OKC is basically the opposite of the Horford/Embiid 76ers experiment (TallBall)

@jodlaa5142

2 ай бұрын

not quite the small ball rockets from a handful years ago, but they're in the ballpark

“Too small” or realistically just need to focus and improve their rebounding. GSW in your example was the perfect point about that

@tmac5135

3 ай бұрын

I hate to be the "actually" guy, but during their championship runs only once were the Warriors on the bottom half of total rebounds. And then they were 17th, so pretty average. So in a matter of fact, not so perfect example.

@SpaceGhost92

2 ай бұрын

@@tmac5135okc plays more half court ball than a lot of teams and that skews the total rebound stat. Slower pace = less available rebounds to grab

@tmac5135

2 ай бұрын

@@SpaceGhost92 That's just not true. They're 10th in pace this season.

People gotta realize the only real weakness we have is rebounding, offensive rebounding doesn’t matter because the whole point of them is second chance points, but if you turn the ball over at a high rate, it pretty much cancels it self out. We played the suns two weeks ago and nurk had 31 rebounds and they got blown out. Because they had 22 turnovers and we only had 6. So the stuff we do is better than what other teams do so that’s why we’ve been so successful without a “ big “

@Wrestle_Kingdom

3 ай бұрын

Thank you finally someone who actually watches okc and understands why okc plays small

@jjjohnson373

3 ай бұрын

@@Wrestle_Kingdom Chet has held his own against every single big that was listed in this video coming off a broken foot in his first season playing basketball, and a lot of those teams listed play one dimensional basketball compared to OKC that have different ways to attack you, they’ll see us in June my guy !!

@nattobaby

3 ай бұрын

didn't you struggle against the mavs bigs without luka?

@Wrestle_Kingdom

3 ай бұрын

@@nattobaby this is such terrible logic also the only big okc struggle with was gafford that’s it

@nattobaby

3 ай бұрын

@@Wrestle_Kingdom because luka wasn't there to feed them. luka is also the mavs 2nd best rebounder averaging 9 a game

Hoping to see you guys start posting 2-3x / week for the nba! Looks like it’s your most popular videos that everyone love!

Presti is like that fable about the man who gets a wish and uses his wish to get more wishes, and dies without actually ever using one

@SpaceGhost92

2 ай бұрын

How? They literally are in their first year of contention

@1O1O11

2 ай бұрын

They are a top 3 team in the NBA and basically tied with the Nuggets... You know, the Nuggets that won the championship last year? With that one guy who wins a lot of MVP trophies.

@natedogg890

2 ай бұрын

They need another big, everyone can see that. They could've easily outbid the Mavs for Gafford on the cheap, they have a 100 fucking picks. Presti and OKC have a history being cheap and it fucking them over, what is the point of all this pick equity if they don't start trading for win now pieces? Especially since they are so close, it just has 2013 vibes. OKC should have won at least one ring, they drafted 3 top ten players and had great role players, but wouldn't pay the tax and wouldn't consolidate. Now here we are a decade later and it's the same shit

@TheDeven1000

2 ай бұрын

@@1O1O11they’re actually 3-1 on the Nuggets this season

@1O1O11

2 ай бұрын

I watched all 4 of those games. The Thunder seem to have the Nuggets figured out... But I didn't think I even needed to mention that, as being #3 in the current standings is already more than enough to show that the Thunder are incredibly far ahead of schedule in developing a team that should compete for years to come. That, and I remember when the Spurs knocked the Thunder out of the playoffs in the KD era despite beating the Spurs 3-1 in the regular season... @@TheDeven1000

There is no doubt they have rebounding deficiencies. However, what they lack in size is also what allows them to drive to the lane, space the floor, and make 3’s. I am not saying OKC will be champs this year but it’s important to note that one disadvantage can also create an advantage in other aspects of the game

@1O1O11

2 ай бұрын

I'm certainly not expecting OKC to win it all this year. But I think they would be stupid to give up all the huge advantages their lineup gives them in favor of a more traditional lineup. The current lineup is great and should just be given time to develop. I wonder if people in 2012-2013 were talking about how the Warriors could never win because Draymond Green was too small...

@AdamLovesHorror

2 ай бұрын

@@1O1O11 completely agree and you said it even better than I with the Golden State point. He admits that DG is like 6”6 and yet they are a dynasty and have been competing for a title the better part of a decade now. Even this season there are (some) who believe they can go far. I’be been a pistons fan my whole life, Ben Wallace mostly scored on dunks and was short yet DPOY multiple times. Tayshaun Prince wasn’t much of a scorer either, better than Ben, but not by much PPG. It wasn’t long ago that people said Minnesota is not going to be good because they have two big men and the league has moved on from that team build. Yet those are the same reasons he brings up why MIN or LAL can beat OKC. Narratives are wild to me because I’ll bet that if Boston played in the West this year they wouldn’t be talked about the way they are now. They’re playing excellent but they also only play 30/82 games against the far superior conference so your numbers will look better playing against lesser teams. But nobody in media seems to be able to comprehend that or be considered a Celtics hater for questioning something. Sorry so long, hope everyone enjoyed my Ted Talk.

@1O1O11

2 ай бұрын

Basically everyone in the media wants to see trades and signings and anything to have more 'news' to talk about. If OKC just keeps this young lineup and makes no changes for multiple years, it is going to make a lot of media people very annoyed. The media wants more teams like KD's Nets... but I don't think Presti wants that... I hope OKC is SGA, Dort, Giddey, Jalen, and Chet in 2029-2030... @@AdamLovesHorror

@AdamLovesHorror

2 ай бұрын

@@1O1O11 I wouldn’t hate that team. I get why they want the clicks and views on let’s say ESPN or Fox but on KZread it’s rare to see people who can say whatever they want not say much about these things. Like you said he basically contradicts himself when you consider what GS has done in the Steph era. It also doesn’t mean that Sam Presti won’t be drafting, signing, or trading for bigger body to play there but it would need to be the right player and not rush just to fill the need. So many teams today are competitive but have like 1 draft pick in the next 6 years. No thanks. Good to know I’m not alone in the common sense population. Take care

These videos are always so good kudos to you JC & @thescore

It's just baffling to me how they didn't address this issue during the trade deadline. They are overflowing with future trade picks, and they don't want to spare any for one decent big?

@Wrestle_Kingdom

3 ай бұрын

It’s very simple it not apart of their plan, most fans don’t understand how okc operates and what they’re trying to do, majority of bigs that possibly was available okc was never going to trade due to what okc wants in there players and how they want to play the only players that got traded that fit what okc looks for is Kelly olynk Okc wants certain players who are versatile and not one dimensional that fits okc offensive and defensive scheme and majority of big don’t fit that also when it comes when drafting players as well it why okc never drafted traditional big when people constantly mock them those players. The purpose of why okc gather so many picks is to have flexibility and to make trades for role players when necessary similar to how Denver did when trading for role players but drafted as well

@themustardthe

3 ай бұрын

@@Wrestle_Kingdom Yeah, olynyk or lauri. Bro I was salivating before the Jazz were good for a small stretch before the deadline because it almost looked like Lauri could've been traded to OKC for like four or five firsts, but alas.

@MeNoWorryYouNoWorry

2 ай бұрын

Yeah they could have packaged 10 picks for Davis

they lack Aquaman

Thunder getting blown out by the Bucks emphasizes what Shaq meant when he didn't see them going far into the playoffs. You cannot win if you don't have a roster with enough bigs that are strong and athletic. JDub should not have to be guarding Giannis.

Okc have exceeded expectations this season. They have lot's of draft capital to improve their squad and add in some addtional bigs in the offseason and the upcoming 2024 draft. They also have Houston's pick this year which is likey going to be a lottery pick. However I would be suprised if they made a deep run in the playoffs due to the size issue. A 1st round Mathcup against the Lakers or Dallas could be a nightmare stylistically, but OKC should not be discounted as they are the number one seed for a reason. Additionally they have the advantage of youth as well being under no pressure to win now. They will be seen as contenders 'real' contenders next year so most likely that is when their title window will start . No one predicted that they would be the number one seed in the western confernence. I am really exicted to see how they perform in the playoffs this year!

Have a good friend who is OKC fanatic. I’ve been saying basically this all year. I had them top 3 Reg season and second round exit. They are gonna be a problem, just not this year

Sam Prestie need pursue Lauri Markannen or OG Aunoby this coming off-season 🤔🤔🤔

Great video! Keep it up

Don't think you should count out OKC -- excited to see how teams will try to scheme against SGA in a series. The west is stacked, every series is up in the air

Felt weird hearing “Davis’s Lakers” haha

Honestly we should sign Kenny Lofton Jr. We have bigs that can shoot and that have great off ball movement but Kenny Lofton Jr is the perfect example of an old school center. He bullied Chet and Wemby on the boards and in the post when they met. It would for sure add another dimension to our offense.

dont forget the mavs. they had trouble beating them last night without Luka or green while exum and gafford also dealt with injuries. before that gaff and pj absolutely owned them in their first game with the mavs and before that lively kept getring the best of chet. obviously the thunder should be favored against whoever ends up being their first round matchup but everyone would rather face them then the nuggets wolves or clips

Very good points. OKC has had some uncharacteristic losses the last month, and rebounding matters in the playoffs.

Interesting take

I got the perfect role player for them. And he should be available next year for a reasonable price.…..Steven Adams.

@bestmoments5877

2 ай бұрын

No

They've been small all year. They may get out rebounded but not by much. Nurkic had 31 rebounds. But as a team, the suns only ended up with 8 more total rebounds than okc at the end of the game. And the suns still lost

Excellent! Articulate!

If the big problem was that bad they wouldnt be the 1st seed. But yeah, they could certainly do with someone in the off season.

They will be fine.It takes time to be a good team.Lets wait till next year where they can make moves

Both things are true. The local media knows they’re too small. Presti certainly does. OKC is patient. How far can this group go? We gotta see. They’re gonna make a move for a big man.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is too small to play point-guard? Josh Giddey at 6'8", Jalen Williams at 6'6", and Chet Holmgren at 7'1" are small? OKC just simply doesn't want to have 2 bigs on the court. If they wanted a 2nd big they would have one. It isn't like they are are short on things to trade or cap space. They could have picked another big at any time over the last 3 drafts and chose not to. It isn't the kind of basketball they want to play, and as a top 3 team in the NBA at an unprecedentedly young age, so it seems what they are doing is working.

Get Dwight Howard

@emmanuelmondesir8677

3 ай бұрын

“How big of a fan are you?”

@sanket518

2 ай бұрын

Yes

Losing in the First round vs whoever they play. Their type of play doesn’t translate to playoff basketball, it’s something that will come with experience.

I think they can get Jarret allen if they really want to…he can fill up the C position and is a great rebounder and defender..chet is too inexperienced and i m sure silling to share the court with allen

@Jamellii

2 ай бұрын

Allen sucks playoffs time they should lowkey bring back Adams for leadership and rebounding

Don't like the fact that you're already writing them off, before the playoffs. But yes, it was a shock they didn't sign anyone by deadline. Any back-up center..

5 1st rd picks coming 2024

Rise or another Fall for Charlotte Hornets new ERA & new owners your next video theScore 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

If the thunder are makings shots. No one can stay up with them. Yes its an experiment how they approach the game. Fun to watch and if more teams took their approach the nba viewership would increase. Only team that has a winning record against them is the lakers. They have tons of draft picks and add ant man to this team and they would be unstoppable. Another year of 1 round exit for the bucks and it might happen with their draft picks.

Too small. Lol. Such a unique take.

Get another bigman play chet at 4

OKC could face off against Dallas, who have Gafford and Lively, with Luka, Kyrie and other shooters around them.

Something something playoff whistle going against sga

If the Thunder suck as badly as you lay out then how the heck are they 47-20?

Thunder are stubborn on playing small they will be exposed in the playoffs They gave up potential sixth man of the year in tre Mann and size in Aleksej pokoveski They are wasting prime years of another superstar like Shai

Okc is best equiped to beat a team like Gsw or even Dallas which is really difficult, facing up against centars like Jokić,Gobert, Sabonis,Zubac,AD,Valanciunas and Zion,Nurkic all guys who are above 270pounds they will destroy every Thunders front court player,Okc have J Will and Muscala as backup bigs, that is bbq chicken for big centar in west

@Wrestle_Kingdom

2 ай бұрын

You clearly don’t watch okc, the bigs that dominant okc is ad,sabonis and gafford, and the only teams okc really struggles against is lakers and mavs Okc play well against every other team, the clippers match up is perfect for okc zubac is not a center that dominate offensively and isn’t good enough defensively to stay on the court, the pelicans okc play Jonas off the court due to his bad defense with okc spacing and Zion we typically just send multiple players at him so he can’t drive,the same thing for nurkic applies to zubac and gobert doesn’t score enough offensively to make okc struggle with his size which is why okc play the timberlwolves well

The reason the thunder are so good is the reason why they’ll lose huh? No one can stop them because they run 5 out with a ton of guard on guard ball screens with one of the most skilled stretch 5s ever. But Ok buddy 😂

@1O1O11

2 ай бұрын

Maybe Kendrick Perkins wants to come out of retirement and return to the Thunder.

“If opposing teams shot their regular eFG% against the Thunder, they’d be 21st in dRTG. Lmao, if my grandma had wheels she would be a bike. A complete joke of an argument.

Josh Giddey will get ejected if he playing against Tyrese Haliburton’s pacers

Thunder need steven adams to complete the team

They got Moose back 😂

You're talking about the warriors like the thunder didn't beat em 3 out of 4 times this year. And the one time the warriors won shai wasn't playing

What too small are you talking about?

call me crazy but i would trade the okc picks for alex sarr

Really?!

Who doesn't know this it has always been the Thunderless problem no inside toughness the Thunderless a Miles Turner would be the perfect pick or Wiseman from the Detroit go to grow with the team real basketball people know this

This ended up being true.

Too smalll…but significantly taller than the Warriors who are one of the best rebounding teams? Hypothesis disproven. This comes down to coaching somewhat and the players wanting to rebound somewhat. Small teams can win the rebound battle but they have to be crashing the glass instead of leaking out to hope for a breakaway dunk on the other end. Warriors are also ranked near the bottom for pace, because they are crashing the glass instead of running off while hoping someone else on their team gets the board. OKC is tall enough and has great athleticism, they can get rebounds if their coach decides the focus on that. Right now they have decides to emphasize the run game.

@1O1O11

2 ай бұрын

I think Josh Giddey is a good example of why the Thunder have potential to be better at rebounding than the stats this season show. The guy was a point-guard who is now in the role of being the #2 rebounder. The guy is 21 years old and has plenty of time to adjust his positioning on the floor. There is no reason to believe that OKC can't improve their rebounding with the exact same players on the floor. Do people really think Holmgren has peaked at his rebounding ability 75% of the way through his rookie season? That there in no ceiling beyond that?

Giddey+1st round for Looney?

@BoxCarBoy12

3 ай бұрын

lmao why would they do that, Looney is washed and useless now. Even before he lost his mobility his strength was switchability onto guards, not for dominant defense on big centers. He was and is useless against the likes of Jokic and Embiid, so he doesn't address the Thunder's size problem at all

Those idiots should’ve bought Jakob

Just double team shai. Let see what the other players can do. The rookie chet gonna get bullied for real.

They shouldve not traded down for Wallace and got Lively. Really puzzled by that move.

@Wrestle_Kingdom

3 ай бұрын

Okc was never taking lively they drafted him for the mavs so the trade can go through also lively wouldn’t work in okc due to how okc likes to play and he wouldn’t get any PT plus he wouldn’t make okc better due to how okc run their offense and defense

@MeNoWorryYouNoWorry

2 ай бұрын

And then make the same mistake when they traded Jeff Green for Kendrick Perkins? I don't think Presti wants to repeat that mistake again. That team with Jeff Green was always the blueprint in small ball OKC basketball. A bunch of versatile playmakers and 3 levels scorers who can also defend multiple positions.

sign Dwight Howard

OKC will not face LAKERS or GSW...OKC going to finish 2nd seed. LAKERS and GSW can only go to the 8th seed so; OKC vs SUNS / MAVS or SAC LAKERS or GSW vs DENVER or OKC if they finish 1st seed.

lmao kramer

We would destroy The Suns and T wolfs

Stay asleep

Haters

You wasn't talking no stuff about the thunder until they made you a hater !!!

Propaganda. A team that wasn’t supposed to be this good and is on top of the west. Don’t say you’re a fan or saw this coming.

@JoeCash89

2 ай бұрын

There's literally video evidence that we saw it coming 😂

@colemartin7320

2 ай бұрын

I mean in regards to the video’s presentation. Someone who claims to be a fan, and then tells you the reasons why they aren’t going anywhere in the playoffs is a silly premise. I actually am a fan of the Thunder and anyone could see what they’re building is special. But, anyone who says they saw them battling for top spot in the west at this point is lying. Way ahead of schedule and they have room to grow. It’s good to be an actual fan of the Thunder. Not someone who still doubts their talent and ability to close games in the postseason!

This is the laziest, most shallow, surface level take in all of sports. The team has one of the all time great net ratings, top 5 in offense and defense, and an mvp candidate. Do you think the team doesn’t know they have a flaw? Lol maybe they are willing to play small and sacrifice rebounds in order to play a certain way. They’ve said it multiple times. Content for the sake of content is so dumb

Thunder are better